Worcester photographer's work inspires Eva Longoria film

The work of a fine-art photographer from Worcester has become an inspiration for “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria's upcoming short film.

Photographer Michael Bilotta is a winner of Canon's Project IMAGINAT10N contest. Ninety-one winners are competing to have their entries selected as inspiration for short films by celebrity directors, who will be overseen by director Ron Howard.

The goal of the Canon Project IMAGINAT10N Film Festival is to show that everyone is creative by collaborating with celebrity directors from many different areas of expertise, including TV, film, fashion, music, technology and business.

The directors choose one photo from 10 different storytelling categories. Entries were narrowed down to 30 finalists per category by Canon, and the 91 final winners were determined by public voting.

Mr. Bilotta says that he was made aware of the contest simply from being a big Canon fan, and watching the advertisements for the contest on TV. He was also aware that one of the winners from last year, Brooke Shaden, uses a similar theme and approach in her photography.

Mr. Bilotta's winning photo is called “Self-Portrait of Henry Jekyll.” The theme for his photo is duality and the monster within. The photo was inspired by classical literature, he said.

“The piece is a mash-up of a lot of things. It's a little Dorian Gray and a little Jekyll and Hyde. The difference is that my piece is about accepting the monster inside and saying, 'All right, this is a part of me, too,' rather than fearing it,” he said.

Mr. Bilotta says he recently gave up his for-hire photography practice because he wasn't getting enough artistic satisfaction out of corporate headshots and maternity photos.

“I'm hoping to raise some awareness about what I do. If I got publicity, breaking into the gallery world, getting models and Facebook fans would all be much easier,” he said.

More information about Mr. Bilotta and his work can be seen at www.michaelbilotta.com and also at www.facebook.com/MichaelBilottaPhotography.